Ruins
by coveredinthecolors
Summary: After seven years away from her husband, Caroline is forced to be reunited with him. Now they have to work together to save their family while trying to deal with their past mistakes and old wounds. Original!Caroline AU.


**This was my drabble for garglyswoof for the Klaroline Winter Wonderland Exchange. Everyone should head to AO3 and check all the amazing gifts that we had for this exchange!**

* * *

 _My head is filled with ruins  
Most of them, I built with you_

* * *

Even when he saw her lifeless body sprawled across his bed, Klaus knew that she wasn't really gone.

He didn't believe she could die without him feeling it instantly — and yes, one could call it sentimentalism, one could even call it weakness, but it didn't really matter. Because he knew there was no possible way that his wife's heart would stop and his wouldn't even skip a beat in a terrifying warning.

And yet, seeing her creamy skin ashened and the bloodstains that covered her shirt was enough to make him lose all rationality. He was by her side in a second.

His eyes carefully analyzed every inch of her body. Her golden curls were a mess around her head in a way that made him miss spending lazy mornings with her; her expensive clothes weren't torn or showed any sign of a possible fight; her expression seemed painful. There was a silver dagger thrust into her chest.

 _Daggered,_ Klaus thought as he ran his fingers through her hair. All of the daggers were being used in each one of his siblings, which meant one of them must have been woken… Which meant one of them had hurt his Caroline.

He felt his stomach boil with anger at the thought. Using her like this — _harming her —_ just to give him a warning… He wouldn't forgive that so easily.

Klaus pulled the dagger from her heart, sitting beside her on the bed as he waited.

The tension on his shoulders began to fade little by little as he watched her face regain some colour, as he saw her chest begin to move up and down as she began to breathe again. Then she opened her eyes.

He saw the fear and hurt and desperation that passed through them in the second it took for her to notice him. Then she sat up hurriedly and he had the disturbing feeling that she was about to run away.

"It wasn't me," he assured her. "I promise you it wasn't-"

"I know," Caroline cut him off, her voice hoarse and weak, but she still looked as if she was searching for the nearest escape route. He knew that she probably was. "Blood. I need blood."

Klaus offered her his wrist, arching his brows in a challenge. "Have at it, my love."

She scoffed at the endearment, but either her thirst was too great and she couldn't afford the time to look for a human, or she thought he'd consider it a victory if she didn't drink from him. And his wife hated losing.

Caroline let her vampire features come to surface, grabbing his arm and pulling it closer to her harshly. Then sank her fangs into his skin, warm blood quickly filling her mouth.

He had to hold back from groaning at the feeling of having her feed from him for the first time in so long. He had missed watching how greedy she was when it came to his blood, devouring as much of him as she could.

It had been over seven years since he'd had the privilege.

It had been over seven years since she had walked away.

Klaus tried to push those thoughts out of his mind, letting himself enjoy the fact that she was there now, feeding from him. Even if it would only last a few more moments.

He used his free hand to change her position, so that she would be leaning against him, her head resting on his chest as she drank from his wrist. He closed his eyes as he began to caress her hair, taking a deep breath and letting himself be enveloped in her scent.

Eventually, she let go.

Klaus had to be thankful for her exceptional control, because he wasn't sure if he would've made her stop. Not when staying like that allowed him to forget how much he hated her and how much she hated him. Not when he was so afraid of what would happen when she was ready to talk.

She was hesitating, too.

The wound on his wrist was already closed when Caroline pushed his arm away, moving to sit further apart from him.

When her eyes meet his, they were cold.

"It was Finn," she said before he had the chance to ask. "He was the one who daggered me."

He frowned, taken aback by her answer.

Truth be told, he hardly ever thought about his eldest brother. Finn had hated what they had become, he had wanted no part in it… Daggering him had been the perfect solution in Klaus's eyes.

His brother wouldn't have to deal with being a vampire and he wouldn't have to worry about Finn helping their father in his mission to kill them all.

"Finn daggered you? I don't understand it. His coffin was hidden in Spain and he has been living in it for 900 years… Even if someone undaggered him, how did he find you?" Klaus asked. The more he thought about it, the less the story made sense. "Unless you were the one to-"

She shook her head. "I didn't do it. But he wasn't alone, Niklaus."

He saw the apprehension in her eyes, heard the concern in her voice. He could tell something was very, very wrong. "Tell me."

Caroline looked away from him, taking a deep breath. Whatever this was, it was more important than their fight or she would have already be gone.

"Mikael and Esther are helping him. Or rather, _he_ is helping _them_."

Klaus just stared at her.

He knew she was angry at him, otherwise she wouldn't have left, but he didn't think she would create such a preposterous story as part of an elaborate revenge plan. He didn't want to believe she was telling him the truth, though.

So he chuckled.

"That is impossible, sweetheart. I killed them."

Caroline didn't appreciate being laughed at. "Oh, because we have never witnessed anyone coming back from the Other Side, have we?" she snapped at him. "I saw them, Niklaus. With my own eyes."

"It can't be."

"And yet I was ambushed by them," she remarked.

There was still a hint of fear in the corner of her eyes and he knew there was more that she was not telling him, so he pressed, "Tell me what happened, Caroline."

She sighed.

"As you know, I was enjoying some much needed vacations in Buenos Aires," she said, looking at him to see if he would deny knowing about her whereabouts. He never lied to her, and he wasn't about to start doing it now, so he stayed quiet. She rolled her eyes. "I had every intention to be Mikaelson-free for at least another couple of years, so imagine my surprise when I find three of them in my apartment."

He ignored her provoking comment. "And then?"

"Then your lovely mother gave me a few aneurysms. Mikael started to going on and on about how I was married to an abomination and how they had to put an end to it. And then…" she stopped, looking back at him. He knew they had reached the part that was worrying her.

"Tell me."

She took a deep breath. "Then he came towards me… With a white oak stake. I thought he was going to kill me," she said, laughing humorlessly.

Klaus swallowed. His mind was invaded by the images of how he had found her on his bed just moments ago… The fact that she had almost died and he hadn't been there to help her was more than just a little unsettling.

He could see that it'd had a huge impact on her as well. That she was worried and scared… And he hadn't thought his hatred for Mikael could grow, but the fact that the could make Caroline feel that way only made him despise the man even more.

"Anyway, he didn't," she tried to brush it off, shaking her head. "They made Finn dagger me instead and that's the last thing I remember."

He knew she was skipping through many details and he would need her to tell him everything exactly how it'd happened. Every word that had been exchanged.

But he had other priorities now.

"And since I found you in my house, it means that they can get in here way too easily. We're not staying here."

He waited for her to argue with him, to tell him that there was no "we" and that she wouldn't be staying anywhere with him. But she nodded. Probably just to be contrary.

"I like the safehouse just outside the town."

* * *

The silence in the car was heavy, containing all the screams and tears that they were both holding back now that they were being forced to share such a small space, their minds unable not to keep replaying each other's mistakes over and over again.

They couldn't focus on the threat looming above their heads, they could only think about each other. About what had happened seven years ago.

Too much was still unsaid; there was still too much pain between them… They knew that the simplest sentence would be viewed as an opportunity to start a fight, that a single word would lead to them reminding each other of every single one of their crimes.

The ghost of their betrayal lingered in the backseat, an uninvited guest to an unwanted roadtrip.

She wanted to tell him in details about all the things he had done to make her feel like she wasn't enough anymore.

He wanted to remind her of how she had broken their most sacred promise by leaving.

None of them dared say anything.

Until they got to the house, that is. Her husband had never been good at keeping his mouth shut when he should.

The safehouse was located just outside New Orleans. It had been enchanted to look like a construction site to anyone who wasn't them and whoever was inside it couldn't be tracked through any spell.

They used to go there when they needed some time alone, away from the perpetually crowded compound in the city.

Caroline forced the fond memories they had shared in that place out of her mind. She didn't want to think about the times she had been happy with him.

Still, she couldn't help but be thankful that Klaus hadn't changed a single thing about the house. She didn't want the times they'd had there to be erased, either.

"So here is how this will work," her husband said the moment he closed the door behind him. Caroline turned to look at him expectantly, crossing her arms in front of her body as she prepared herself for a fight. "You will not leave this house until I say it is safe to do so. I will have someone deliver blood, food and whatever else you may need. I believe that there are still some of your clothes in the closet, but someone will stop by later to bring you more."

"Excuse you?" Caroline said, indignation clear in her voice. "Do you truly think you can give me orders, Niklaus?"

Klaus looked at her. She could see the uncontained anger in his eyes, could see how he clenched his hands into fists. It was rare for him to lose control when it came to her, but he certainly seemed like he was about to.

"You told me yourself that Mikael had every opportunity to kill you. I am not taking any chances."

Caroline scoffed. "If I remember correctly, Mikael had many opportunities to kill _you_ over the centuries. Have I ever tried to trap you in a house for your safety?"

"You knew you would never be able to do that. I, however, have the means to keep you here… Unwillingly, if needed be."

Her eyes widened at that. She knew what he was talking about, but she needed him to confirm it. "What do you mean, Niklaus?"

Klaus smiled at her.

"Have you forgotten how you showed up in our bed in the first place? I have no qualms on daggering you to ensure your safety, my love."

It was a lie, she knew.

He would do it, but he would do it with a heavy heart.

He had never daggered before and she was certain that he wouldn't enjoy it or take doing it lightly… But she also knew that he would, if he thought it was the only way.

Caroline knew that this… Having Mikael and Esther back, working against him, threatening them, was his biggest fear, that it would bring to surface a thousand years worth of paranoia. That it would lead to him doing anything to protect those he loved, no matter the consequences.

But she had never let him walk all over her, and she sure as hell wasn't going to start doing it now.

Her voice was cold when she said, "Funny… I didn't think you even cared enough about me to want to keep me alive so badly. I am not one of your precious hybrids, after all… But perhaps this is just about not wanting to lose, right? We wouldn't want to let Mikael think that he had taken something important away from you."

Some people could consider that she was being unfair… But there was no place for fairness when it came to fighting with her husband.

With a thousand years of marriage came the knowledge of exactly what to say to make the deepest cut on each other.

Caroline knew that he cared about her, that he loved her. She had never doubted it. But he had started to take her for granted when he finally got what he wanted… Becoming a hybrid, making more monsters like him… She had stood with him through it all.

And he had started to spend more and more time with his pack. His new _family_.

For the first time in a thousand years, she felt like he was leaving her behind. She wasn't used to feeling like she wasn't enough; it had been ages since anyone had made her feel that way… But Klaus was one of the few people who still could do that to her. And he had.

 _It had hurt_.

She had hated feeling alone in that huge house, feeling alone even when he came back to their room at night… When they would fuck, and not talk.

She had hated that she had begged him to undagger his siblings, only so that she could have someone, so that she could have her family, and that he had refused. She knew why, she knew that he was so scared that, since they thought Mikael to no longer be a threat, they wouldn't see a reason to stay with him and they would leave… But it didn't matter.

He had taken away her family — himself included — and had started a new one.

It was why Caroline had left.

She had wanted to make him miss her, to make him realize his mistakes… And she wanted to hurt him by leaving. She knew it was one of the things he had always feared, no matter how long had passed… She knew it was the best way to make him feel the pain she had been experiencing.

Klaus growled at her, his eyes flashing gold as he took a few steps towards her until he was standing right in front of her. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. " _I_ am the one who doesn't care? You walked away, wife. So much for always and forever…" he chuckled humorlessly.

She knew he would use their promise against her, but she had hoped it would hurt less. She knew he considered her leaving him to be a betrayal, but she also knew that things weren't as simple as he was trying to make them be.

And yet, she couldn't contain the tears that begin to fall from her eyes.

"You abandoned me long before I abandoned you, Niklaus."

He let go of her as if her skin had burned him. He never knew what to do when she started crying.

His breathing was heavy as he tried to keep his anger in check, but it slipped through his words as he hissed, "Stay here. I _will_ dagger you if you leave, wife."

Caroline didn't ask him where he was going as he left, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Caroline did as he said. If only because she didn't have anywhere she wanted to go… At least until she learned more about what was happening and _how_ it was happening. And since she knew Klaus was most likely trying to figure that out, she gave herself a few hours to think about their situation.

It was clear to her that he was hurting, but that didn't give him the right to threaten her. And he should know that after all these centuries of marriage. She would never accept that.

In the seven years she had stayed away, Caroline had imagined many times how it would be to come back. What he would say… She liked to picture him apologizing for how he had made her feel, but she knew that it was wishful thinking.

Klaus was stubborn and proud. It could take him awhile to admit that he had been in the wrong. She knew he most likely was expecting _her_ to apologize for leaving him. That he would consider that to be the bigger crime.

Even if she suspected that deep down he knew he had been the one to drive her away. That he hated he hated himself for it.

Caroline began to wander around the house, deciding to do something useful while she was there. She wanted to see what supplies they would need, what clothes she had left behind.

She made a trip to the kitchen first, positively surprised to see that the fridge was fully stocked with blood bags. She was still hungry from the desiccation, so she gladly poured herself a glass of B+, tucking in the knowledge that Klaus had to be using the house somewhat frequently.

Her curiosity led her to the room he used as a studio whenever they were there. She had lost count of the times she had sat for his paintings in that place. Clothes on, clothes off. Portraits to be hung on the walls, wearing dresses fit for royalty. Paintings for their eyes only, naked and still flushed from how he had made her come only moments before.

Caroline wasn't sure if she was surprised that the room was still filled with her face. All of them recent works.

She was smiling in every single one of them. She looked happy, radiant… But there was still something incredibly sad about the paintings. Perhaps it was just because she knew that this was how he imagined her time away from him was being. That she was happier after she'd left.

It wasn't true, though.

She hadn't spent the last seven years pining and crying over him. That wasn't like her. She had found something to do, had gone to college again, had made new friends… But she had missed him.

None of that had felt real. That wasn't her life.

She hadn't gone away to be happy without him. She had done it to punish him… And seeing the paintings, she knew it had worked.

And yet, victory tasted bittersweet on her mouth.

She had wanted him to suffer, had wanted him to miss her. But that didn't mean she didn't still care about him, that she didn't hate leaving him alone. Even if it was because of his own actions.

Caroline was so tired of this routine.

How he hurt her, so she had to hurt him twice as bad, and he would feel entitled to strike back and on and on it went.

She didn't think one could be married for a thousand years without collecting a long list of mistakes and betrayals, but it was exhaustive.

She loved him and he loved her… She wanted it to be that simple, like it had been centuries ago.

Caroline was pulled from her thoughts as she heard someone knock on the front door.

She froze for a moment… Her husband certainly wouldn't knock, but they were the only ones who knew of the existence of this house.

Deciding that it was unlikely that, if Mikael and Esther had found her, they would be that polite, she made her way down the stairs… Only to find Bonnie Bennett standing on the other side of the door.

"Hey, Caroline," the young witch greeted her easily. "It's been awhile."

She had met Bonnie in Mystic Falls, when she had gone undercover as a high school student to keep an eye on the doppelganger while Klaus gathered everything he needed for the ritual.

Their friendship had started as a ruse, but Caroline had actually begun to like the other girl. Besides, having a Bennett witch on her side was always a good thing.

It had taken her awhile to convince Bonnie that she truly wanted to be friends after everyone had found out about who she truly was after the ritual, but she had eventually managed. The fact that the precious Elena had managed to live through the whole thing helping her case.

"Bonnie. What are you doing here?"

"Your husband sent me," Bonnie rolled her eyes. While she had managed to befriend Caroline, she still couldn't stand Klaus. "He said you needed my help. But I'm guessing by your reaction that he's the one who actually needs it and dropped your name only to make me agree with it."

Caroline smiled. He would definitely do that. "Well, we both could use your help, so I guess he wasn't technically lying," she said, opening the door further to let the girl in.

"So what changed your mind?" Bonnie asked as they sat on the couch in the living room. "The last time we talked you said you both weren't on speaking terms."

"We weren't. We _aren't_." Caroline sighed. "Mikael and Esther are back."

Bonnie widened her eyes. She had been there when Klaus had finally killed Mikael… When they had thought all had been over. "Wow. I mean… That should help you guys put things in perspective," she tried joking.

Caroline arched her brows and shrugged. "Never underestimate our capacity to hold grudges… Anyway, we don't know how this happened yet, but we know that they are being helped by Niklaus's oldest brother."

The witch frowned. "Elijah?"

She shook her head, "He has an older brother. Finn. He never liked being a vampire, so he stayed daggered for a long time… Which means it's unlikely he's very happy with Niklaus and I at the moment. But to be fair, even before we did that, he was always close with Esther. He always did whatever his mother wanted him to. It's not surprising that he would take her side now."

"But you're still disappointed," Bonnie concluded, reading Caroline correctly.

She sighed. "I wish my family wasn't this complicated. I hoped for a long a time that, once Mikael had been dealt with, we could undagger Finn and teach him to love what we've become. That there would come a day when we could all be together again… But Mikael was killed and Niklaus refused to undagger his siblings. And now his father is back… And so is Esther."

Bonnie offered her a sympathetic smile. "And here I was thinking my family had problems."

Caroline laughed.

"And how have you been? How is sweet Elena? Still toying with the useless brothers?"

The girl scoffed, but didn't deny it. "Don't be mean. And I'm fine. Mystic Falls has been mostly drama free since-"

Klaus chose that moment to walk through the door, interrupting them.

Caroline stood up, not sure if she should be expecting another fight so soon. Instead, she was met with his worried eyes, his face not hiding his uneasiness and his concern. She immediately knew something had happened.

"What is wrong, Niklaus?"

He looked at her for a few moments before shaking his head, as if he couldn't possibly believe that was happening and voicing it to her would make it too real.

"Mikael and Esther have decided to take over the compound in the French Quarter. A few of my men were killed," he said.

He knew she wouldn't be that upset about his wolves or about the house, so there had to be more. "And?"

"And they have the coffins. All of them."

Caroline felt her blood boil in anger.

They had no right to do it. They had no right to threaten her family like this.

"How the fuck did this happen? The coffins were in secret, different locations. There were spells put in them to prevent this!"

Bonnie stood up, too. "I've studied Esther's grimoires. She was a resourceful witch… She must have found a way to locate the coffins. But the real question is, who the hell resuscitated them? To bring two people back from the dead would require an insane amount of energy."

Caroline turned to look at Klaus, her eyes widening. "The massacre in Albania. There used to be a very anti-vampires coven there, I thought they had vanished with time, but a few months ago I heard whispers... Witches in that area said they had felt the energy of a huge spell and only a few days later human authorities found dozens of bodies in the woods."

Her husband nodded. "I had sent one of my hybrids to investigate the massacre, but he never returned. I'm willing to believe that coven sacrificed themselves to bring back the people they believed could end vampires."

"That is a bit… extreme," Bonnie said, wrinkling her nose.

"Yes, not everyone is as reasonable as you," Klaus said sarcastically, thinking about the aversion to vampires she had nurtured until a few years ago.

Caroline sensed that her friend was close to giving her husband an aneurysm, so she quickly changed the subject. "So what's the plan? How do we get our family back and send Mikael and Esther back to the other side?"

"How about you tell me again what happened when you met them."

She huffed, "I already told you everything you needed to know. Finn is helping them and they have white oak. That's all I know."

Klaus gave her a dark smile. "How about I decide for myself what I need and what I don't need to know? For instance, I am rather curious to know why Mikael didn't kill you."

Caroline chuckled. "Disappointed, _my love_?" she mocked him.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Bonnie looking between them as if watching a particularly entertaining ping-pong match.

He stopped smiling, clearly irritated by what she was implying. "Tell me," he bit at her.

She rolled her eyes, but shrugged. "They are probably hoping I betray you. They know about our fight… Mikael even offered me a choice."

"What choice?" he nearly roared.

Caroline looked at him. "He said I could side with them and be spared… Or stay by your side and die."

He got closer, moving so that he would be standing right in from her. He cupped her cheek. "And what did you say?"

"What do you think I said?"

Klaus nodded, a smile smile playing on his lips.

He knew that she would never betray him. At least, not like this. But it was good to have the confirmation… To know for sure that he hadn't lost her, despite everything.

His wife was a stubborn woman, though, and he wasn't surprised when she didn't allow them to have that moment. Instead, she walked past him, heading towards the stairs.

"Oh," she said as she reached the bottom of the staircase. "I really loved the new paintings you've been working on."

The comment seemed innocent enough, but he knew she was mocking him for how he had kept painting her, for the meaning behind his work. She wanted to make sure that he didn't see the fact that she would stand with him as a weakness. She wanted to point out _his_ weakness when it came to her.

"I'm glad you like it, sweetheart," he managed to say through gritted teeth.

Klaus turned to the liquor cabinet as he heard her walk up the stairs, feeling like he needed some alcohol to calm down.

Dealing with his wife could do that to him. He was almost certain that her plan in life was to see if she could make an alcoholic out of him only by constantly frustrating him… He was certain she would manage it.

He had nearly forgotten the presence of the witch before she said, "Wow. You guys are really the most dysfunctional couple I've ever met."

He ignored her.

* * *

Caroline knew that Klaus was standing right outside the door of her bedroom.

And Caroline was certain that Klaus knew that she knew that he was standing there.

She had heard his steps in the hallway, had heard the way he sighed as he stopped in front of her room. And now he was there… Hesitating.

Which could only mean one of two things — he was either about to apologize or he knew that whatever he was about to tell her would lead them to fight yet again.

She knew that her husband very rarely apologized, so she was betting on the latter. Which was the only reason why she hadn't opened the door and put an end to the growing anxiety inside of her as she wondered what he was about to say… Caroline didn't want to fight anymore.

Unfortunately, when it came to her husband, sometimes she just didn't have that option.

He eventually knocked — the fact that he was being polite rather than barging into her room only made her more worried about the nature of their talk — and she raised her chin and straightened her spine before she told him to come in.

Klaus closed the door behind him as she stood up. His eyes carefully analyzed her posture, recognizing the defensive mode she was already on. To anyone else, he wouldn't be revealing anything about what he was thinking and how he was feeling, but Caroline had learned to seek for the smallest signs.

She knew that his relaxed shoulders weren't but a different kind of armor, one meant to make his opponent let his guard down. She knew that his eyes had scanned the room under the pretense of searching for a possible threat, but that he was really just avoiding looking into hers. She could see the uneasiness in his face, but she had also noticed how his jaw was locked.

Caroline instantly knew that he had made a decision about something… A decision he was certain that she wouldn't agree with, but he had made it and he would do anything in his power so that his decision was final.

 _We'll see about that_ , she thought.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline asked, voice intentionally cold.

He didn't recoil at her tone, instead, he took a few steps forward until he was standing close to her. "I have talked to the witch and we will put and end to this tomorrow."

She hadn't heard them, so they must had burned sage… But she knew that excluding her from the plan-making wasn't the reason he thought she'd be upset.

"And?" she pressed.

Klaus looked into her eyes, then, and she prepared herself for the blow as she saw the harshness in his gaze. "And she and I will go deal with them, while you stay here."

It took her a few moments to register what he had said.

Then she started laughing. There was no humor in it, but she couldn't stop it… She knew that he meant it, that he truly thought he could decide that she would stay behind, but she couldn't understand how he thought this would go. Certainly he must knew that there was no way in hell she would accept that.

"Yeah… That's not going to happen."

"Do you think I was lying before, love? Do you think I wouldn't dagger you if it meant you would be safe?"

Caroline was about to ask him again whether he even gave a damn about her safety, but he acted faster. Klaus slammed her against the wall, tightly gripping her arms and keeping them on the sides of her body.

" _Don't you dare say that I do not care!_ " he yelled, his face too close to hers. There it was. She had been expecting his outburst from the moment they'd been reunited. "I wasn't the one to walk away. I was the one raising an army to keep us safe! And I will do anything to keep you safe, _wife_. No matter the consequences."

She felt angry tears burn her eyes as she struggled against his hold… Being a hybrid gave him an advantage on her. She had never hated it more than she hated it in that moment.

"So it doesn't matter that I will leave you?" she asked, trying to keep her voice controlled to oppose to his yelling.

Caroline had told him the day they had found out about the daggers that if he ever used it against her, she would leave him and she would never return. That was a crime she wouldn't forgive.

He had promised her that he would never do it… But now he was threatening her, and she could see it in his eyes that he would do it if he thought it was necessary.

Klaus leaned in even closer, his nose nearly touching hers, his breathing caressing her face. "You already left me," he whispered, hurt clear in his voice.

She shook her head. "You know it as well as I do that I had every plan to return to you when I left. But if you dagger me… I won't come back."

He pulled back just an inch, allowing her to see the anger in his eyes. He tightened his grip on her arms, though, almost as if afraid she'd vanish.

"I won't do it," he relented. "If you give me your word you won't join us tomorrow."

"I can't do that. You know that I can't do that… They are my family, too, Klaus! I will not just abandon them!"

He nodded. He understood… He knew she would feel that way. Her unwavering loyalty had been one of the reasons why he had fell for her all those centuries ago. But he wouldn't take any chances. Not with her life.

"I love you," he said. It took her by surprise. It had been nearly a decade since she had heard him say it. "And I would rather you hated me in life, than having you die loving me back."

"And I would rather die doing something to save my family than finding out later that they all died while I was kept safe in a box! Because you do realize that will happen, don't you? Yes, you are stronger than the rest of us, regular Original vampires, but it doesn't mean that you can take the three of them at the same time! Mikael has spent a thousand years training to kill you, Nik! And he has almost done so too many times… He will succeed if he has Finn and Esther helping him! You need me."

Her words brought a shadow to his face. She hadn't been trying to bait him, or to exploit his fears that he would always be the weak child, tormented by his father… She had just stated the truth.

"Do not have such little faith in me, wife. I killed Mikael before and I will do it again."

"This has nothing to do with faith, this has to do with facts! Even with your hybrids, even with Bonnie… They are too strong, Niklaus! Esther will stop your precious army before they can neutralize Finn and even if Bonnie can deal with her, you'll still have to face two Original vampires, which means you'll-"

Klaus didn't let her finish the sentence.

He pressed his lips against hers in a hungry, demanding kiss.

They used to do that when they wanted to stop a fighting for awhile or they didn't want to hear what the other had to say yet. When it all became too much, too serious, too frightening… They would just fuck each other, letting their beasts take control and forgetting their emotions.

Caroline knew that perhaps she should push him away and continue to yell at him, to try and make him understand how unreasonable he was being… But she was so tired of fighting.

She kissed him back.

His hands let go of her arms, quick to start exploring her body like they had been craving for the past seven years. He grabbed her ass harshly, making her moan against his lips, while his other hand slipped underneath her tank top.

Caroline pulled him closer by his shoulders, needing to feel him pressed against her. She buried her fingers on his hair and bit his lower lip teasingly, her nipples starting to feel over sensitive as they rubbed against her clothing.

She had almost forgotten how quickly he could make her completely desperate for his touch. She needed him, could already feel her pussy begin to ache at the lack of friction.

Thankfully, Klaus fit his leg in between hers, letting her rub her core against the fabric of his jeans, her thin cotton shorts not offering a huge barrier.

His fingers found their way to one of her breasts, quickly cupping it, his thumb flicking over her hardened nipple. Their mouths had yet to part. They were both too addicted to each other's taste to let go; the burning in their lungs easily forgotten with each touch.

And she was ready for him to tear apart all of her clothing, to bend her over the bed and fuck her. She was prepared for how there would be only anger and frustration and no emotional connection. She had convinced herself that it wouldn't hurt too much when he walked away without saying a word.

But he softened the kiss. The hands that had been so eagerly exploring her skin returned to her waist.

Klaus pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. His eyes were closed.

"I will not lose you," he said. Not with the authoritativeness he had been using so far, but with a quiet pleading that had her heart aching.

She cupped his jaw, waiting for him to open his eyes and pulling back so that she could look into them. "And I will not lose you."

Caroline saw the understanding in his eyes as he nodded. He knew what it was like to love someone so desperately that you didn't know if you could live if they were gone, to love someone like they were part of you.

Sometimes he forgot she loved him just as much and just as intensely as he loved her.

Klaus leaned in to brush his lips against hers once again. This time, there was no hint of the harshness of before. The kiss was soft, a display of a different kind of desperation… Not just for her body, but for _her_. For them. For what they used to be.

She had missed this.

She loved it when he was rough and demanding; she loved his bruising touches, his teeth on her skin… But she had missed the way he would worship her body, how his lips touched her with reverence. She had missed him.

He pulled back again, but she didn't want him away.

"Truce?" Caroline suggested, her eyes pleading.

Klaus nodded, a small smile playing on his lips as she took his hand in hers, pulling him towards the bed with her.

Her head hit the pillow, and he moved to be on top of her, placing his knees on each side of her body. Their fingers were still intertwined.

He looked at her.

Her lips were still swollen and reddened. Her hair was a golden mess around her head. He didn't think he had ever seen anything more beautiful in his many years on this Earth.

Klaus let go of her hand to stroke her cheek.

And for long moments, they didn't say anything. They just stared at each other. Openly, completely unguarded. There was so much they wanted to say, but there weren't enough words in all the languages they spoke that could convey everything they were feeling.

They were scared and hurt and tired. They were brave and healing and hopeful.

They loved each other. More than anything. More than they thought themselves capable of loving anyone.

No matter how angry they were, not matter how much they hated it… It was always there. In their hearts, in their minds, in their very bones. They couldn't stop it, they couldn't help it… They didn't want to.

"Kiss me," Caroline said softly.

He did. Again with that heartbreaking gentleness, with more intimacy than they'd shared in so long.

His lips brushed against hers once. Twice. His tongue caressed her lower lip, asking for permission… She granted it, parting her lips to let him in.

He explored her mouth extensively, languidly. Like he had all the time in the world just to kiss her. His hand was cupping her face, his thumb stroking her cheek. His stubble prickled her skin.

She remembered the first time she had shared his bed all those centuries ago. How soft his touches had been, how he did everything in his power to sooth her worries, to make sure he wasn't hurting her.

This could be their last night. They could die tomorrow or she could leave him if he made good on his threat… So she wanted some of that. She wanted the gentleness of their first years, the uncomplicated love they had shared before they were turned into monsters.

She wouldn't change a thing about the times they'd had. Not one line. She loved who they had become, she even loved the complications that the years had brought. Nothing could ever change that.

But if this were to be the last time she would hold him close, then she wanted to be reminded of their beginning. She wanted to feel like they would still have a thousand years to share.

Klaus had always been too perceptive when it came to her, so he knew what she needed.

He began pressing kisses to her jaw, then down her throat, slowly. His tongue teased her skin, his teeth just barely there, lightly scratching her neck.

He pulled back, looking at her with such admiration in his eyes that had her gasping. Even after a thousand years, she still wasn't prepared to the way he would look at her.

Caroline shivered when his hands found their way to the edge of her tank top, slowly — ever so slowly — dragging the fabric up her torso. She sat up to let him remove it completely, and he threw it over his shoulder uncaringly.

She lay back again, her breathing becoming heavier as she waited to see what he would do next.

" _You are so beautiful, my love,_ " Klaus whispered.

He placed his hand on her stomach, lazily dragging it up until he was palming one of her soft breasts, reshaping it. She couldn't help the small moan that escaped past her lips as he captured her nipple between two fingers, pinching it.

He dove his head to put his mouth on her other breast. This time, his teeth came to play as he bit her nipple. He sucked the hardened bud, needing to hear her cry out again. He loved the little sounds she made for him when he touched her.

Caroline gripped his hair, needing to keep him close. She didn't want him to stop… But he had other plans.

Klaus began to kiss his way down her abdomen, his hands trailing down the sides of her body. His lips stopped just above the waistline of her shorts, below her bellybutton. He looked up at her with a small smile on his face.

Her breathing was shallow and her eyes were dark as she held his gaze.

She propped herself up to allow him to drag the cotton shorts down her long legs along with her thong.

He had missed having her naked underneath him, unguarded and trusting him — no walls, no armors. Just them.

Klaus kissed the red mark that her underwear had left on her skin. His tongue traced the thin line from one hipbone to the other, her muscles growing tense beneath his touch. His eyes never left her face… He loved watching her react to what he did to her. She was so expressive, her face so revealing whenever they were alone like this.

He watched her take a sharp intake of breath when he adjusted his position, placing his hands on the inside of her thighs and spreading them for him.

"You are so wet for me, sweetheart," he said as he stared at the pretty pink sleekness in-between her legs.

Caroline closed her eyes as she felt his hand slip up her thigh, anxiously waiting for the moment his fingers would touch her where she wanted them most.

Her pussy was craving some attention, nearly throbbing in anticipation, clenching around air. And he knew it all too well… Caroline didn't need to have her eyes open to know that he was most certainly smirking at her.

His smugness was the last thing on her mind when his fingers started teasing her folds, though.

Klaus was quick to find her clit, using his thumb to gently rub against it. "Tell me what you need, Caroline."

"I want your fingers inside me, Nik. _Please_."

It took him a moment to respond, his mind too caught up on the fact that she had called him _Nik,_ that this almost felt like things were before he'd fucked up and she'd left.

When he finally came to his senses, he complied, plunging two fingers inside of her and beginning to move them, fast enough that she wouldn't complain about it, but not enough that she would peak over the edge too quickly. He wanted to drag this out, wanted to memorize the way she looked, the sounds she made… He knew it could all be gone tomorrow.

"You are so lovely," Klaus praised as she began to move her hips to meet every thrust of his fingers. "So lovely, Caroline."

He used his free hand to play with her breasts, earning him the sweetest moans from her as he pinched her nipple. He scissored his fingers inside of her, brushing them against her walls in a way that made her shudder. He circled her clit ever so lightly, just before he rubbed against it a little more forcefully.

There was so much he wanted to say to her. He wanted to tell her how much he loved seeing her like this, naked underneath him and letting him pleasure her. He wanted to tell her how every sound she made was driving him crazy, how it was making his pants feel uncomfortably tight. He wanted to describe all the ways he wanted to have her.

Instead, he kissed her again.

He was addicted to the taste of her lips and he had gone too long without tasting them. So he swallowed her shallow gasps, teasing her tongue with his own… There was something intimate about kissing her. And he regretted the fact that it had been too long since they had been intimate. Even before she had left.

They had fucked each other, of course. But sex didn't always mean intimacy. For a while it hadn't been but about relief for them… And he wanted to fix that now.

Klaus felt her clenching around his fingers, knew that she was approaching the edge.

"Open your eyes, love," he instructed as he began to finger-fuck her faster, to rub her clit harder. "I want you to look at me when you come."

She did as he asked, her hazy eyes staring into his darkened ones.

"Nik, I'm so close," she breathed, her hips desperately following the movement of his hand as he felt her orgasm building inside of her.

The muscles of her abdomen were tense, ready to snap at any second.

"Come for me, Caroline," Klaus said. "I want to see you coming."

"Niklaus!" she exclaimed as her body responded to his voice, her climax sweeping through her and making her entire body relax against the mattress. She struggled to keep her eyes open and looking into his as bliss settled in her bones, but she didn't want to look away from his gaze. He looked at her like he had never seen anything more beautiful.

And Klaus was sure he hadn't.

He sucked his fingers clean from her release, moaning soundly at the taste. He didn't know how he had endured all these years without tasting her.

He lay down beside her, placing one hand on her stomach as the other caressed her hair, waiting for her to come down from her high.

Caroline turned to look at him, lying on her side. "I don't want tonight to end," she confessed.

"Neither do I, sweetheart."

He took her hand in his, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. Then he gave her a mischievous smile, pulling her so that she would be straddling him.

She giggled as she leaned down to kiss him, her hair falling like a curtain around their heads. "It's a good thing it doesn't have to end just now, then," she said, rubbing her core against the bulge in his pants.

Her husband groaned against her lips.

"How come you are still completely dressed?" Caroline complained, reaching for the edge of his Henley to take it off. He chuckled, but sat up to help her.

Her hands began to explore his abdomen, her nails scratching his stomach lightly as her lips mets his again.

Klaus chose that moment to reverse their position, rolling them around so that she would be underneath him.

He began to press kisses to her collarbone while her hands worked on the button of his pants and then dragged the zipper down. Caroline was quick to get rid of his pants and briefs.

She wrapped her hand around his cock, slowly stroking him. He nipped at the skin of her shoulder when her thumb caressed the tip of him, his low hiss muffled by her body.

Caroline felt her lower belly tighten with arousal again, his touches always more than enough to make her want him.

She needed him inside of her.

"Nik…" she whispered, a little out of breath as his lips closed around one of her nipples again.

Klaus heard the need in his voice, he knew what she wanted. And he wanted to give it to her.

He kept on teasing her breasts for a few more moments, enjoying her reactions a little too much… Her soft gasps, the way she would hold onto the sheets as she arched her back.

But he was desperate for her, too. It wasn't long before he was positioning himself in between her legs, not being able to take her lazy, torturous strokes anymore.

Caroline spread her legs invitingly, her eyes looking into his openly. He reached out, caressing her cheek with his knuckles.

She wanted him and he wanted her and in that moment it was just that simple.

So she guided him to her entrance, and they both closed their eyes as he slid into her.

It had been way too long for both of them.

Seven years without sex for a vampire was nearly impossible… But no matter how hard things had gotten, they were still husband and wife and neither of them had forgotten about it. Neither of them wanted to. Besides, they could never find anyone else to be even remotely appealing.

They opened their eyes and smiled at each other. This felt good. This felt _right_.

Caroline wrapped her legs around his waist, the slight movement making them both moan as her walls stretched to adjust to this new position.

Klaus rolled his lips tentatively and she grabbed his shoulders, feeling the need to hold onto something. He smirked at her reaction, taking it as an invitation to keep moving.

His thrusts began slow, a kiss on her jaw punctuating each of them. He wanted to torture her a little, to watch her grow impatient and cry out for more as her hips began to chase his.

"Niklaus…" she quickly reprimanded, correctly guessing his intentions and making him smile.

"Tell me what you need," he requested.

Caroline huffed, though the effect was ruined by how she moaned a second later. "I need more. Or have you forgotten how to pleasure me, husband?"

Klaus groaned, "Certainly not."

"Then prove it to me," she challenged.

Perhaps if the circumstances were different, he would've been able to resist to the bait. But this was the first time he was having her in so long and just being inside her was driving him crazy… He felt the primal need to engrave himself on her skin, to make sure she carried him in her bones.

So he gave in.

Klaus began to fuck her faster. It still wasn't nearly as rough as how he would take her sometimes, but it was what she needed to gasp his name. Her nails dug into his back until they drew blood when his fingers began playing with her clit.

He groaned at that, his eyes turning gold for just one moment, but she saw it. He saw a gling of excitement flash in her eyes.

"Bite me," she asked him.

He didn't need have to be told twice.

Klaus let his hybrid features show and was quick to sink his fangs in her neck, his thrusts becoming more frantic as the rich taste of her blood hit his tongue. Nothing in the world could compare to this.

He offered her his neck as well, knowing that this would feel even better if he had her drinking from him, too. And he was proved right just a moment later, when he felt her bite him back.

There was something about the way they were taking and receiving everything the other had to offer, the way they were allowing each other to sate their needs on their bodies…

It was bliss.

It tipped them both off the edge.

Caroline breathed his name at the same time he whispered hers like a prayer. Their breathings were uneven, an uncoordinated symphony. She missed the weight of his body on top of hers when he eventually rolled to the side to lie on his back beside her.

Klaus turned his head to look at her, a smile on his face.

She smiled, too. For a moment. And then it faltered.

She had meant it when she'd had said she didn't want the night to end and she was so very tired of fighting. But she needed to know where they stood.

"What is it?" Klaus asked worriedly, reaching out to cup her face for millionth time that night. He couldn't seem to help himself, always needing to be touching her.

Caroline sighed, looking away for a moment as she gathered the courage to say the words that would likely ruin their night.

She looked back at him when she was ready. "Tomorrow we will go save our family. Together."

He closed his eyes, his thumb still caressing her cheek.

Klaus understood why she wanted to go. It wasn't just for his siblings… But for him. He had heard the resolve in her voice when she had said that she wouldn't lose him. And he knew how he would feel if she was going to face possible death and she made him stay away, unable to help her.

He still feared, though. He closed his eyes and saw Mikael piercing her heart with a white oak stake. He saw her body, ashened and lifeless.

But he also had to take her words from earlier into consideration… He would need her. This wasn't something he could do on his own. Not if he wanted him and his family to live.

So he nodded. He hated it, but he nodded.

"Together."

Caroline smiled brightly at him, propping herself up on her elbows so that she could lean to kiss him sweetly.

"Hold me?" she asked, her head still hovering over his.

Klaus pulled her down, her head coming to rest on his shoulder while he wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her close. He pressed a kiss to her hairline.

"All through the night."

* * *

They didn't really sleep.

There was too much on their mind and they were too worried about what tomorrow would bring to allow themselves to close their eyes and drift off.

But they had stayed in each other's arms all night long. And somehow that had felt more restful than a good night sleep.

Eventually, though, the sun began to invade the room through the windows, and they knew they couldn't just stay there forever. Even if they wanted to more than anything. Even if this had been the first time they had truly felt at peace in seven years.

But they had plans to make and a family to save.

So they disentangled their legs and sat up. Hesitantly. Slowly. Stealing kisses and touches… Neither of them wanting to think that this could be the last time they would spend like this, but neither of them being able to forget it.

Klaus called his hybrids while Caroline woke Bonnie up.

They spent the entire day planning how things will go down, sticking with the decision of being the ones to attack instead of waiting to be attacked. They didn't know how long they would have before Esther lifted the spells that sealed the coffins, and they couldn't take any chances.

They would go to the compound at night, knowing that they could use the full moon to their advantages. Both because of the wolves and because Bonnie could draw more strength from it.

Caroline was worried for her family, for her husband, for herself… She knew things could go very wrong, but all the planning was helping to keep her calm.

She had always excelled at it and so had Klaus. It was good working with him again, to have their minds working in synchrony as they complemented each other's ideas.

And even when the planning was done and it was almost time to go, having her husband stand by her side as their ordered their minions around, his hand on her lower back as they talked, the look of reverence on his hybrids' faces when they looked at him… She felt home.

She had missed being the queen to his king. And she couldn't wait to get her house back, to end the threat to their reign.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay here?" Klaus asked for the millionth time as they were about to leave.

Caroline rolled her eyes at him, "We've discussed this, Nik. I am going."

He sighed, but the effect was ruined by the smile he was unable to keep off his face whenever she called 'Nik', which she had been doing all day long. And each time, it renewed his hopes that things would be ok.

Klaus could get through this day if it mean he could have her back.

They all went to the city. Some of his men had been keeping a look at the compound the whole day and texted them to say that Mikael, Esther and Finn were all inside the house.

They needed this to be quick… It had to end tonight. If they failed, it could cost them everything.

Klaus's hybrids went in first.

Some of them in their human form, some of them as wolves. They had been instructed to attack, to try and bite them. Especially the vampires. It wouldn't kill them, but it would weaken them considerably.

They were also told to try and lure them to the patio. It would be easier to fight there than inside the house.

Caroline, Klaus and Bonnie stayed outside, close enough that the vampires could hear what was happening inside the compound.

He kept close to his wife as they waited. He still wasn't happy that she was there, putting herself in danger… Yes, he knew she could take care of herself, but he didn't want her to have to.

They were dealing with Mikael, after all. Someone who actually had the power to kill them… And Klaus simply didn't know how to live without her.

"It's time," Caroline announced after a while, when the sounds from the house began to grow louder, the wolves beginning to howl to get their attentions. It meant they were in position.

Bonnie gave her a small smile. "Let's go, then."

She appreciated her friend's confidence, but she couldn't help but feel like it had been unfair of her to ask for Bonnie's help and involve her in this mess. Still, no matter how much she had come to care for the girl, she would always do whatever she had to do for her family.

Klaus nodded his agreement, taking the front of their small group.

He walked in first, just in time to see Mikael removing the heart from the last wolf that had been standing. The other hybrids were either dead or unconscious, no doubt courtesy of one of Esther's spells.

Finn seemed to have been bitten, judging by the unhealed wound on his arm and the blood on his clothes.

"Niklaus. I'm so glad you've decided to join us," Mikael taunted, a cruel smile on his lips. Thankfully, Klaus knew better than to let his father's mockery affect him, but that obviously didn't stop him. "And I see you brought your lovely wife along with you… And another girl. I had heard there was trouble in paradise, but I didn't think you would step so low and replace her. Especially after how Caroline refused so bravely to betray you… Have you changed your mind, my dear? Now would be the time."

Caroline glared at him for a few moments, not giving him the satisfaction of an answer.

Instead, she looked at Esther. The witch was engaging in a staring contest against Bonnie, probably sensing the girl's powers and seeking for weakness she could exploit. Caroline hoped that her friend would keep the Original Witch occupied until she had dealt with Finn — whose expression was pained and she could see that he was having a hard time holding on to the present. The hallucinations weren't far away.

She noticed that he was holding the white oak stake instead of his father.

Mikael probably had predicted that Klaus would bring his own weapon and he was planning to use it against his son.

"I see," he continued. "So loyal to your husband, Caroline… I admire that. But do you really think he deserves it? We all know that you would be better off without him."

She rolled her eyes. "For heaven's sake, can we just start killing each other so that you will shut up?"

Caroline saw Klaus smiling in the corner of her eyes for just a moment before Esther said, "If you insist."

Aneurysms started to burst in their heads, but it only lasted for one moment before Bonnie made sure that Esther had her energies focused elsewhere.

Both witches began a silent duel. No one would say anything extraordinary was happening if the effort wasn't clear on both of their faces and the occasional lamp simply exploding.

Mikael and Finn had used the few seconds they had been immobilized to attack, however, and Caroline only just barely dodged his attempt to put the stake through her stomach.

She was sure he had been aiming for her heart, but his face was already covered in sweat and he was blinking to try to focus his vision.

She had hoped the wolves would have managed to bite Mikael, not him.

Caroline knew that she would have been able to take him down much more easily than Klaus would be able to defeat Mikael. Even if Finn was an Original Vampire, he had only truly lived for a century and didn't have anywhere near as much experience as she had in fighting and in controlling her abilities.

She would've been more at ease if Mikael wasn't in his best shape while he tried to kill her husband.

But she knew she couldn't afford to keep an eye on Klaus… Even if it was almost impossible for her not to.

They had decided that she would deal with Finn and then would help Bonnie with Esther, though. And she liked to stick to the plan.

She had a feeling Klaus wanted to kill Mikael _alone_... A part of him was most likely enjoying the opportunity to get another taste of revenge against the man who had hunted them for the past thousand years.

Caroline couldn't blame him.

Finn lunged towards her again, but she easily grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, a loud crack echoing through the patio. He didn't drop the stake, though.

She risked looking at her husband for just a second, finding him and Mikael fighting for the weapon, using their strength and the vampire speed to crash each other against the walls.

Finn wasn't too far gone that he didn't use the opportunity he saw, hooking his feet around one of her ankles and pushing her, making her lose her balance. She fell on her back.

"Caroline!" she heard Klaus yelling, followed by Mikael chuckling.

Her husband had been distracted by her and had lost the weapon to his father.

She growled, pushing Finn away as he tried to attack her again and quickly getting to her feet. "Don't pay attention to me, you idiot!" she yelled back.

Caroline realized that this wasn't going to work if they had their mind on each other instead of focusing on fighting.

She kept on defending herself from Finn's attacks, feeling them getting sloppier, and she started walking towards an open door that would lead them inside the door, making him follow her.

They had chosen to fight in the patio so that Bonnie could draw energy from the moon and it would be harder for them to be ambushed, but she knew that she would have to improvise a little if they wanted to win.

She led them further and further inside the house, until they hit the living room, knowing that Klaus wouldn't be able to hear her from there unless he was actively trying, and she hoped he was smart enough not to distract himself.

Then she began to fight back rather than just defending herself.

It was almost too easy.

Finn was already stumbling, his vision most likely clouded. His movements were too slow when compared to hers and she managed to punch him in the face without him blocking her fist.

It was wrong of her to enjoy it, but she kind of wanted him to pay for betraying their family.

He knew of all the crimes Mikael and Esther had committed against them. Against his siblings… And yet he chose to abandon them when he was supposed to side with them.

But before she could throw the next punch, though, Finn's lips stretched into a huge smile — a genuine, happy smile.

Caroline frowned.

"Sage? I can't believe you are here!" he said, dropping the stake to throw her arms around her. Caroline tensed, but let him. The hallucination had finally begun. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Then he pulled back, confusion taking over his face. "I don't understand… My mother told me that you were gone. That you had died centuries ago, Sage. How are you here?"

"She lied to you, Finn," she said. "All Mikael and Esther do is lie to you. But it will be over soon and then we will be together, yes? I have missed you so much."

Caroline got the silver dagger that had been in the inside pocket of her coat all night long. "They lied? Why would they… Of course!" he began laughing humorlessly, his brown eyes displaying more anger than she had ever seen in them. "They knew that if I thought you were alive, I never would have agreed to do the spell!"

"What spell, Finn?"

"Mother has linked the three of us. None of us will stay dead unless the three of us are killed. I wouldn't have agreed to put a target on my back… Niklaus and Caroline will stop at nothing to destroy mother and father and-"

His eyes seemed to clear at the mention of her name.

Finn looked at the dagger in her hand and then to her eyes.

Caroline didn't give him a chance to react, quickly stabbing him through the heart.

She held him in her arms as his body went limp. She kept whispering "I'm sorry" over and over again. He wasn't like Mikael and Esther… There was no satisfaction in taking him down. She still thought of him as family. And she knew Klaus did, too.

Caroline gently put his body on the ground, trying to keep her breathing even as did her best not to lose it while she searched her surroundings… She found the stake he had dropped lying on the floor behind her.

Her hands were trembling as she took it.

She knew he had been telling the truth when he thought he had been talking to Sage… And she knew that it was extremely likely that Mikael and Esther would take precautions in case their plan failed. They weren't stupid.

Perhaps there was a way to break the connection. Perhaps Bonnie could do it… But she knew that Esther liked to invent spells and it would take days — perhaps weeks or even months — until they found a way to reverse it.

And during this time, Mikael and Esther would keep resuscitating over and over again… _If_ they managed to kill them every time they came back until Bonnie found a way to break the spell.

That would entail having to confront Mikael more times in a few months than they had in a thousand years.

And there had been a reason why they ran instead of staying and fighting.

He was a real threat, even more so with Esther by his side. The chances that one of the would fall was too great.

Caroline stared at Finn's face, desperation growing inside her chest as the thought about what to do.

She knelt by his side.

"Damn it, Finn! We were supposed to be a family!" she yelled, tears falling from her eyes.

Caroline had never had a special connection with him. Even when they were children, Finn wouldn't play with the rest of them, and as he grew older he also grew further apart from all of them. She knew how close he was to Esther, knew of the respect he had for Mikael… But, through the centuries, he had never really left the picture of the family they could be once everything was over. And now he would have to. She would cut his face from the photograph and they would all have to deal with the blank space it would leave.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Part of her wanted to be selfish and wait for Klaus, ask him to do it for her. But she couldn't. She knew her husband well enough to know that it would break him to do this.

So she did it. She took of the dagger from his chest, only to replace it with the white oak stake.

Caroline pulled back as she felt the flames taking over his body. In the back of her mind, a small voice was telling her to look, telling her she didn't deserve to live without having that imagine imprinted on her brain. She kept her eyes tightly shut.

When she opened them again, his body wasn't but a burned corpse. His face completely unrecognizable.

Her stomach protested at the scene. If vampires could be sick, then she would've been.

"I'm sorry," she whispered again.

Caroline allowed herself a few moments to cry, but she knew it wasn't the time for mourning him yet. And when she heard Bonnie scream, she dried her tears and sped to the patio.

Klaus and Mikael were still fighting. It was hard for her to tell who had the advantage. Her husband was holding the stake, but they were fighting on the stairs and Mikael had the high ground.

The two witches were completely focused on each other, their noses bleeding and faces contorted in pain. She could see that Bonnie's strength was wavering, though. She knew that if the witch continued to spend that much energy she wouldn't make it.

Bonnie had the strength, but Esther had the experience. She knew when to hold back, when to spare her energies. She knew that if she was patient, she could win against the younger girl.

Caroline knew that Bonnie needed her help more than her husband needed at the moment, so she decided to take advantage of the fact that no one had noticed her yet to speed so that she would be standing behind Esther.

She wish she could've seen her mother-in-law's face when she felt Caroline's hand punching through her ribcage just before she ripped out her heart.

Bonnie fell on her knees at the same time Esther's lifeless body hit the ground, her heart following suit.

His wife's death was enough of a distraction to make Mikael falter for a second.

Caroline looked up to see him staring at her direction with wide eyes, only then to realize his mistake. Klaus only needed one second, after all.

He put the stake through his father's heart, a dark smile spreading across his lips as he got to kill the man for the second time.

Mikael's body fell from the stairs across the railing, hitting the floor with a loud thud.

Klaus flashed to her a second later, his hand cupping her cheek as his eyes checked her body for any possible injuries. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, "I'm fine. I promise."

He breathed in relief as his brain registered her word, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

Caroline buried her face in the crook of his neck, needing the comfort as she tried to contain the sobs that threatened to leave her throat.

They stayed like that for many moments until he pulled back, concern evident on his face.

She didn't know if it had taken him this long to remember because he had been too worried about her or if he had just been working up the courage to ask her. "Where's Finn?"

Caroline averted his gaze, stepping away from his embrace. She closed her eyes.

"They were linked," she said. "Finn told me. He was beginning to hallucinate, but that much I knew was true. They all needed to be killed for this to be over. I… I did what I had to do."

"It's true," Bonnie confirmed, her voice weak. "I felt the spell being lifted when you killed Mikael. If the three of them hadn't died, then they would be able to come back."

She risked looking at his face, but only long enough so that she could register the shock in his eyes. She looked away before she found something else.

She hoped he could forgive her for what she had done. She hoped she could forgive herself.

Caroline couldn't talk about it yet, though. So she made her way to Bonnie, knowing that she needed to check on her. He didn't protest.

Her friend has her eyes closed, her breathing was shallow and uneven, but she looked like she was going to be fine. Caroline knelt beside her, pretending she didn't hear Klaus whooshing away.

"I feel like my head is going to explode," the witch joked and she smiled.

"Stay here for the night," she ordered. "You can stay in whatever guest room you'd like. I'll send someone to bring you food and fresh clothes later."

Bonnie opened her eyes at the word "food", offering her a bright smile. "Thank you."

Caroline shook her head. "Thank _you_ for everything. We won't forget what you did for us."

"I'm counting on it."

She helped the witch up to her feet and watched as she walked up the stairs clinging to the railing. Caroline really liked the girl.

Around her, her husband's wolves that were still alive began regaining their senses.

She straightened her spine, her queen façade taking over. The night still wasn't over and she had minions to boss around.

* * *

Klaus stood by her side as they silently watched the flames, doing their best not to be nauseated by the scent of burning flesh.

They were in an open field away from the town. He had sent his hybrids to build three pires so that they could burn the bodies, as they were now doing.

It was just the two of them now, and Caroline still wasn't sure how to look at him.

They had exchanged few words since everything had happened. He had let her know that the coffins had all been found, still sealed, and that Kol, Rebekah and Elijah were fine. He had even smiled at her in reassurance… She didn't think he was angry at her for what she had done.

But she wasn't sure about how she felt about everything that had happened either.

"We will have to destroy the other side," he said quietly, in a tone he used whenever he was afraid to disappoint her. But she couldn't argue with him on that.

It was too dangerous giving Mikael and Esther the chance to return. This had to be over for good… They couldn't afford considering any other factor. They wouldn't allow themselves to.

"I know," she agreed, her voice hoarse from the lump in her throat.

Klaus took her hand in his, slowly, still staring at the fire, as if afraid to startle her. She didn't pull away, not when his touch made her breathe a little easier, when his presence could still make her feel like things would be fine.

He squeezed her hand once in comfort. In a silent question.

She squeezed back.

"It wasn't your fault," Klaus assured her, his thumb caressing the back of her hand. "It had to be done."

Caroline nodded. She knew that… Rationally, she understood that. But it would be a long time before her guilt began to fade away.

"Good to know you don't hate me, then," she said in a weak attempt at joking that was ruined by the tears that could be heard in her voice.

Klaus turned to her, cupping her cheek with his free hand. "I could never hate you."

His voice, as always, contained that impossibly annoying level of certainty. His arrogance would be exasperating in any other circumstances, but in that moment she just loved the way he could sound so sure about that, loved that he could convince her he was telling the truth.

Because she wasn't sure that she didn't hate herself.

He seemed to sense that, pulling her into a tight hug. He knew she took comfort in being close to him, perhaps nearly as much as he did in having her close.

So he held her, his grip around her waist never wavering. Because he just wanted to keep her there with him… If she was there, things could be all right again.

Klaus held her for what felt like hours, scared that she would leave him the moment he let go.

* * *

Klaus strengthened his hold on the glass of scotch he was holding as he heard her soft steps echoing down the hall. He didn't turn to look at her as he sensed her walking into the room, keeping his gaze focused on the view out the window.

Caroline had stayed the night, but he hadn't joined her.

She had gone to bed and he had stayed up, needing some time to think… And he couldn't think about his brother… Not yet… So his thoughts had turned to his wife. To their future. To what would happen now.

After all, Caroline hadn't come back to him of her own volition. She hadn't _chosen_ to be back. Which meant she could choose to leave him again.

It terrified him.

"There you are," she said, joining him by the window. He still didn't turn to look at her. "Bonnie has left. She says she'll do some research about how to bring down the other side, though."

He nodded as a way of acknowledging what she had just said. He didn't want to discuss this yet.

Klaus didn't have to look to know that she was frowning. Caroline had thought they were past the cold silence treatment. "Are you okay?" she asked, concern evident in her tone.

He ignored it.

"Are you leaving?" he inquired, voice distant, still staring out the window.

 _Oh_ , she thought, realizing what was disturbing him.

She knew that this — not even looking at her — was his way of pretending that she didn't have the power to hurt him with a single word. Caroline couldn't have that.

She grabbed his arm, urging him to face her and stepping closer to him once he did. She reached out to cup his face, her thumb caressing his stubbled cheek as she looked into his eyes.

Klaus looked uncomfortable. He knew she could see too much, but what worried him the most was that she wouldn't find what she was seeking.

"Yes," she said at last.

Having his heart pierced by white oak would've hurt less.

He recoiled. His mind was coming up fast with the worst things he could say to her, things that would make her stay away for twice as long as she was planning; self-destruction an old habit of his when it came to their relationship.

But Caroline didn't even let him put some distance between them — when he took a step back, she took a step forward.

"And you are, too," she added, her eyes hopeful, while his were filled with confusion. "I'm thinking Paris."

Caroline couldn't remember the last time she had seen him smile at her so genuinely. She couldn't help but grin back at him, her heart feeling warm.

"Just the two of us?" he asked, his voice showing uncharacteristic signs of doubt.

She knew he was afraid that she would turn this into a family bonding time, since he had agreed last night to undagger them. She knew he wasn't ready for it… And truth be told, she wasn't either. Not after everything… Not after Finn.

Caroline knew that the rest of the family wouldn't really blame her, but they all tended to say venomous things to one another when they were hurting. And she needed to deal with her own guilt before she could handle them all pointing fingers at her.

So she nodded, looping her arms around his neck. His hands tentatively came to rest on her waist. He was still so afraid he would startle her and she would run… It would take her some time to convince him that she had no plans to walk away again.

"Just the two of us."

His smile grew larger as he pulled her closer into a tight embrace, and hers did, too. They had wasted too much time not being like this... just staying in each other's arms, enveloped in each other's scent. Her body relaxed against his, her head buried in the crook of his neck. He pressed a kiss to her hairline. They just wanted to make up for the lost years.

"I am so sorry, my love. For everything." Klaus whispered after a while. She knew he meant it. "I never wanted to make you feel like you weren't enough. You were always worth everything to me, Caroline. You always will be."

She tightened her hold on him.

"I'm sorry for leaving. I love you and I want to spend forever with you… But you make it really difficult sometimes," she chuckled a bit, the tears in her eyes evident in her laugh. "And if you ever make me feel like I'm not good enough ever again, I-"

He didn't even let her finish her sentence.

"I won't," Klaus vowed. "I won't."

Caroline believed him.

They stood there like new lovers, greedy for each other's company, memorizing everything about one another and making plans for tomorrow… Even if they were still healing from old wounds.

This wasn't a new beginning. Not really. They would never be able to truly let go of their past. There was just too much history between them.

But in the end, what mattered was that they would always have more future than they had a past. Eternity was lying in front of them. It always would be. They had time for forgiving, for getting it right. For repairing anything that was broken.

And they would.

Because no matter how many opportunities forever offered them, parting ways would never be an option. Not for them.

This was forever, after all. And they wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

 **Please, let me know what you think!**


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